MALAYSIA’s labour market conditions continued to strengthen in Oct in light of the steady economic backdrop.

The decline in the number of unemployed persons picked up on both a month-on-month (MoM) (-0.7%) and year-on-year (YoY) basis (-3.4%). 

“Consequently, the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 3.2%, the lowest rate since Jan 2020,” said Hong Leong Investment Bank in a recent report.

In terms of unemployment duration, the share of unemployed for less than 3 months increased while the share of unemployed for 3 to less than 6 months and for 6 to less than 12 months were unchanged.

In contrast, the share of unemployed for longer durations of more than a year inched lower.

By category of unemployment, the number of unemployed persons who were actively seeking jobs declined to 440.0k persons.

Employment continued to expand at a steady pace on both a MoM (+0.2%) and YoY basis (+1.9%). 

The advance was primarily led by the services sector, notably in the wholesale & retail trade, food & beverage services and the transportation & storage activities subsectors. 

Growth was also supported by upward employment across all the other sectors; manufacturing, construction, mining, and agriculture.

In terms of employment status, the number of employees and own account workers continued to expand at a steady pace.

Meanwhile, the number of employed persons who were temporarily not working decreased further to 72.1k persons. Note that Sept was 74.3k people.

The labour force also observed steady expansion on a MoM (+0.1%) and YoY basis (+1.7%), signalling continued optimism surrounding the country’s employment opportunities and economic conditions. 

Following this, the labour force participation rate sustained at its all-time high of 70.5%.

Separately, SOCSO reported a decrease in loss of employment to 5.1k in Nov. Oct was 6.9k.

The bulk of the reported LOE came from the manufacturing, wholesale & retail trade, and information & communication industries.

KL (24.7%) and Selangor (22.8%) remained the two states with the highest LOE concentration.

Malaysia’s labour market is expected to remain stable going into 2025, supported by continued global economic activity, steady domestic demand prospects and government’s job creation initiatives stemming from various national master plans such as NIMP2030, NETR and Budget 2025. 

The continued uptick in tourism activities and higher realisation of approved investments are also expected to further enhance job creation, positively impacting the labour market and household spending. —Dec 10, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/employment-continues-steady-growth-led-by-services-sector/